Junior High School
I thought I could force my brain to shut down, pretend nothing happened, and then slowly sort out my thoughts and lick my wounds.
As a result, that night, accompanied by soothing instrumental music, Hinata Aoi kept her eyes open in the darkness, waiting until the world outside the window gradually became brighter.
She frequently checked the time on her mobile phone, but still couldn't lie down. She got up an hour earlier than usual, prepared her lunch box and took the tram to school.
Hinata Aoi paused as she passed her mother's room, glanced at the closed door, and walked away quietly.
There was no place she could feel safe anymore.
When I was a child, I had nightmares and always woke up in Ms. Hyuga's arms the next day...Now the small safe haven has been completely destroyed.
So how could she obtain such luck? She must have done something extremely evil in her past life to be in such a situation.
After struggling through the first class, Hinata Aoi fiddled with the pens in her bag, suddenly zipped it up, stood up, and went to ask for sick leave from her homeroom teacher.
With yesterday's condition as a foundation, I was able to take sick leave smoothly.
Hinata Aoi rejected Chiba teacher's suggestion to find someone to pick her up. She lied to the teacher and said that she had contacted her mother. She went back to the classroom to pack her schoolbag, deliberately threw her muted cell phone into the hole of the desk, and left the school without saying goodbye to anyone.
Tsumeki's concerned question did not stop Hinata Aoi.
She looked at Goujuan Ji in confusion, but saw that Goujuan had already sat down in Hinata Aoi's seat, leaning back and looking for something in the girl's desk hole.
Startled, Nakatsu Miki's eyes widened: "Inugami-kun, what are you doing?"
Goujuan didn't have time to explain, as he just happened to touch the cell phone that Hinata Aoi had abandoned in the depths.
Hinata Aoi may not know that she has been hypnotized, but she must know that there is a GPS in her phone.
His expression instantly became serious, and Goujuan quickly took out his phone and typed:
"Please ask for leave for me."
After confirming that Tsumeki saw it clearly, he didn't dare to delay for a moment. He immediately chased outside, then braked suddenly and put Hinata Aoi's phone back into the hole in the table.
Tsumeki and Sakurai were stunned and didn't understand, but they helped Gojuan pack his schoolbag and gathered together to discuss what excuse they could use to escape the sharp eyes of the homeroom teacher.
*
The interval was not long, and Inumaki Saki easily caught up with Hinata Aoi and accompanied her on the train from a distance.
He definitely didn't want to be discovered after leaving his phone at school. Gojuan didn't bother to stop him, as he only wanted to protect Hinata Aoi's safety. By the way... he was curious about their destination.
With doubts in mind, Goujuanji accurately controlled the distance, trying hard not to feel sleepy and staring at the girl's figure. He sat on the tram for a long time before it stopped at a station somewhere in the countryside.
There were fewer and fewer pedestrians along the way, and Goujuan could only use low buildings to shelter himself... and then hide behind a tree.
Hinata Aoi, feeling quite inspired, picked and plucked wildflowers along the mountain path. Inujuki hid somewhere amidst the lush greenery, enduring the bites of mosquitoes. When he left, he still had several cockleburs on his clothes.
Finally, they came to a temple.
Instead of entering the main gate, Hinata Aoi turned around and found a low wall to climb over and enter.
Worried that he would be discovered face to face as soon as he entered, Goujuanji secretly poked his head out from the wall of the courtyard, looked around, but was shocked by a pile of neatly arranged tombstones.
After shrinking his neck, Gojumaki stuck his head out again, and when Hinata Aoi turned her back to him, he flipped over and hid behind the cover he had chosen in advance.
So you are here to worship?
But as far as he knew, the only people who could be worshipped by the girl were the Gouyu couple...but weren't their bodies left?
As if she were a regular at paying respects, Hinata Aoi fetched a bucket of water and walked straight towards a tombstone, scooping up water one by one and began to clean it. The wildflowers were first placed on the dry ground.
After changing to a position with a better view, Gojumaki remained quiet and knelt down like Hinata Aoi, silently reciting prayers in his heart - blessing for health, blessing for safety, blessing Hinata Aoi to have all her worries disappear and to smile all the time...
Suddenly, the breath of the cursed spirit surged out from behind him.
Goujuan immediately stood up and turned, looking fearfully towards the monks' quarters he had deliberately avoided on his way here. The cursed spirit was there.
Not wanting to let Hinata Aoi out of his sight, nor leaving the cursed spirit alone, Goujuan gritted his teeth and set up a tent first, hesitating whether to go in or not.
As if sensing his hesitation, the aura of the cursed spirit grew stronger, but it also made Inumaki Satoru, who felt tempted, more alert, and he even considered taking Hinata Aoi away from this place.
Knowing that seduction was impossible, the middle door of the monks' dormitory was pushed half open, and an ugly curse spirit came out, holding a piece of paper in its mouth, and slowly moved towards him.
The ability to control cursed spirits like this...
Resisting the urge to exorcise the cursed spirit, Goujuan took the paper from its mouth and said, "Come here."
The vigorous and powerful calligraphy caught his eye and he was unable to refuse.
Inujuki Satoru looked back at Hinata Aoi and walked into the room with heavy steps.
The sun was shining brightly outside, but the room was a little dim.
As soon as he entered the door, Goujuan saw a man sitting on a cushion right in front of him.
He was wearing a monk's robe, with his hair half tied up and half loose, a gleam in his narrow eyes, and a friendly smile on his face.
"Inugumaki-kun, right?"
“It’s really hard to ask you to come here~”
The man adjusted his sleeves slowly. On the table in front of him were the pen, ink, paper and inkstone he had used to deliver the message. A curse spirit was cleaning up the splattered ink.
"Is it inconvenient to talk? From this perspective, the curse technique inherited from the family is also a burden."
"I don't know if you've heard of me. Thank you for taking care of my sister. I'm Aoi's brother - Geto Suguru."
Although he was smiling with his eyes narrowed, Goujuanji felt a sinister feeling. The door behind him was also closed by the curse spirit. He stood in front of the door, vigilant and dared not move forward.
As if he was amused by Inumaki Ji's fearful look, Geto Suguru waved his hand and the lights in the house were turned on.
"Don't be so reserved. We can't chat from so far away~"
The light did give Inumaki a sense of security, and the furnishings in the room became clear before his eyes.
Besides the table and cushions, there is a wall cabinet.
Behind the man lay neatly folded bedding, and at his feet lay a pile of organized documents. It looked like he lived there permanently, yet it was so simple that there was nothing superfluous.
There is also the bandage tied on Geto's head. It is light blue and the pattern is unclear, which seems out of place with his outfit.
Calming down, Goujuan took a few steps forward and sat down on the cushion opposite Xia Yujie without any courtesy.
Since he couldn't beat him and couldn't run away, he might as well listen carefully to what Geto Suguru wanted to say to him.
Admiring Goujuanji's courage, the man was no longer in a hurry to speak.
He ordered the cursed spirit to clear the table of things and replace it with tea and snacks before speaking again:
"Inugumaki-kun, I've been waiting here for nine years, but Aoi still hasn't come back to pay her respects."
"So, how did you provoke her?"
The atmosphere froze instantly, and Goujuanji's heart was filled with alarm and anger.
What were you doing earlier? Now you're acting like a good brother, but why didn't you care about Hinata Aoi's feelings when you attacked her?!
Clenching his fists and swallowing his anger, Gojumaki asked instead of answering:
"Why did you call me in?" You didn't come here just to "call me in to question you," did you?
Geto Xia Yu could hear the underlying anger, but he didn't get angry. It was normal for a capable sorcerer to have a bad temper.
He had come here to recuperate, whether he was busy or not. He had never expected to wait for his sister to come back for worship, and there was a promising youngster following her. Of course, he wanted to tease her and see if he could add a talented person to his team.
It seems difficult to persuade him to rebel. Otherwise, should we just execute him on the spot?
Thinking casually, Geto Satsuki fluently spewed out sentences full of "righteousness" for brainwashing, but they were all easily resolved by Gojuan with irrelevant answers and digressions. He could only hold his forehead with regret:
"What a stubborn child! Interests are what motivate people."
"How about this, let's talk about Aoi."
"Why are you following my sister?"
It's quite disgusting to hear Geto Suguru call Hinata Aoi like that, Goumaki thought.
It's even more disgusting than seeing cursed spirits serving tea and water, working at will.
It seems that Geto Suguru finally found the right topic. Gojuan really thinks that as his ex-brother, Geto Suguru should be able to help him analyze some questions and find answers.
But should he tell Geto Suguru about what the girl had recently experienced?
After struggling alone for a while, Goujuan still said nothing.
He thought that Hinata Aoi must hate Geto Suguru. Looking for a solution from Geto Suguru would only make Hinata Aoi feel worse.
......Is this called mental mysophobia?
Geto Suguru is still somewhat useful. He somehow makes Inumaki Satoru understand Hinata Aoi a little better.
Seeing that he couldn't get any useful information, Geto Suguru completely lost the desire to tease her.
Otherwise, just kill him... Never mind.
"It's better not to tell anyone about what you've seen of me. I don't plan to leave this temple yet."
"If I can't stay here anymore, I'll take Aoi with me~"
"During the training camp, if I wanted to take her away, you couldn't stop me, right?"
After being given a frightening example with a smile, Goujuanji subconsciously pulled at his mask.
Geto Suguru's expression remained unchanged as he continued to increase his bet:
"I can be considered as Inugami-kun's savior~"
"Aoi's relatives are still buried here. You don't want to disturb their peace, do you?"
A miniature human skin flower emerged from the shadows, its tongue sticking out and drooling.
*
Hinata Aoi knelt upright in front of her grandmother's tombstone, cleaning it and expressing her apologies.
"I'm sorry I haven't visited you in a while. You must be lonely."
"...I am not a child of God at all, I am just a coward."
When she was seriously injured and hospitalized, her whole body was in a state of stress. She felt deeply disgusted with the people who came and went in front of her bed and wanted to decide her fate. She had lost control of her emotions and lay quietly like an empty puppet.
It was when she was recuperating abroad that she decided to pretend to have amnesia and cut off ties with the past, so there was naturally no reason for her to come to pay her respects.
The place I once tried every means to return to has become a thing of the past that I have voluntarily forgotten.
After a long period of consideration, practice, and caution, she became a coward, but she took a wrong step from the very beginning.
Pretending to have amnesia would be deceiving oneself. The moment he asked Tsumeki about "Summer Oil", his true identity was exposed.
"Grandma...I messed up everything."
"You said you wanted me to come back to see you more often, that you wanted me to trust my family, keep my abilities a secret, and help as many people as possible... I haven't done what you said."
"It's a failure. I have no family left. I thought I could at least complete my plan, which was the only thing I could control, but I went wrong at the first step."
"I hate sorcerers..." But because she didn't want to make friends anymore, the only people left around her were sorcerers.
Yes, why didn’t she think of it earlier.
If we shut everyone out, wouldn’t the only ones left who are determined to throw themselves into the fire be those with “evil intentions”?
......It turns out that everything has a traceable path, and it is reasonable to have come to this point.
Unable to even smile bitterly, Hinata Aoi put down the water scoop and sorted out the wild flowers one by one. Silent tears wet her chin, and drops of them fell into the remaining water stains on her uniform.
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